How often, when you’re singing a hymn, does the weight and beauty of a song land on you? How often do you realize what you’re singing is a testimony of the Lord’s work in your life and in the lives of those around you?

I remember one Sunday when we sang this line at church: “Morning by morning new mercies I see.” How often do we notice God’s mercy in our lives? When we sing, “All I have needed Thy hand hath provided,” do we acknowledge and thank God for that truth?

Thanksgiving is a day set aside for us to think and talk about what we’re thankful for. We tend to list things like health, family, friends, needs that have been met, jobs, and so on. But do we recognize God’s providing hand in those things? And even more, do we thank him, not only for the gifts he gives us, but for simply who he is?

If we depend on God’s faithfulness to us (and we do), let's thank him for it. If we depend on his provision or salvation, thank him! If we need the grace he gives, thank him for being the God who freely gives grace to his children. If we need something to hold on to in the midst of a rapidly changing, tumultuous world, thank him for being the rock on which we stand.

As I sang this song that Sunday morning, I recalled a thought I’d had the day before: there are a million ways and a million times my life could have gone differently, and I’m thankful for the life I have right now. Even as I write this, I’m shocked that it’s true: God has so richly blessed me that I wouldn’t change a thing. God’s mercy has placed me where I am, and I see that mercy freshly today.

As we near Thanksgiving, we often talk and think about what we’re thankful for. We are thankful for things like health, family, friends, needs that have been met, and so on. I find that I often take God’s faithfulness for granted. But what if, instead of thanking God for what he has done, we first thank him for who he is?

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

(Lyrics by Thomas Chisholm, music by William Runyan)

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;There is no shadow of turning with Thee;Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not,As Thou has been, Thou forever will be.

Chorus:Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!Morning by morning new mercies I see.All I have needed Thy hand hath provided –Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,Sun, moon, and stars in their courses aboveJoin with all nature in manifold witnessTo Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

(Chorus)

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!